MAN MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD Devotion #12 of 17

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle , and over all the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them"

(Genesis 1:26-27)

Renewed in knowledge after His image

Of regenerate life, the Spirit says, "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him" (Col. 3:10). This view of salvation is refreshing. We are putting on the "new man," or new nature, that continues to be developed within us by the Holy Spirit. This development involves the transformation of our thinking, sensitivity, and expression. At the root of this change, experientially speaking, is spiritual knowledge. The new nature is "renewed in knowledge after THE IMAGE of Him that created him." This is a marvelous metamorphosis! While our bodies are deteriorating, our spirits are becoming more like God--in knowledge! As it is written, "though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" (2 Cor 4:16). Think of the magnitude of this! Ponder the things that we have come to "know." "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness (in the power of the evil one)" (1 John 5:19). We also "know that we have passed from death unto life" (1 John 3:14), and that "it is the last time" (1 John 2:18). Having been brought into the heavenly sanctuary, we now "know that God works all things together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28). As we contemplate the decline of our earthly frames, we do not despair. "We know that if the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Cor. 5:1). We now have understanding concerning God's law and our sinful nature. "We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin" (Rom. 7:14). These things reflect a remarkable degree of spiritual understanding! It is a degree of understanding available to every person in Christ Jesus. This has not been learned academically. It does not reflect the mere conveyance of information to our minds. This is nothing less than the attainment of God's perspective--"the mind of Christ" (1 Cor 2:16). These are things as God sees them, and we have been given to understand them that way, and to do so in our hearts. This understanding has become part of us! Praise the Lord! We are being conformed to God's image, far beyond what Adam enjoyed.

-- TOMORROW: THE LIGHT OF KNOWLEDGE IN CHRIST'S FACE --